AFTERNOON DELIGHT

KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Tropical J's Inc. owners Gary and Jeri Barnes relax
under under an umbrella on their cabanas yesterday
at the Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality & Foodservice
Expo at the Blaisdell Center.

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Dole earnings fall 18%
but banana sales rise

Dole Food Co. said today its second-quarter net profit fell 18 percent to $37 million, or 66 cents a share, from $45 million, or 81 cents a share, in the equivalent quarter of 2000.

The result was pulled down by $28 million in pretax expenses related to shutting down and selling off some of its operations in California and the Pacific Northwest, which more than countered a pretax gain of $8 million from the sale of investments.

Excluding those items, Dole had an operating profit of $50 million in the latest quarter, up 11 percent from an operating profit of $45 million in the year-earlier quarter. Revenues in the latest quarter were $1.23 billion, down slightly from $1.24 billion in the 2000 quarter.

Dole shares fell 83 cents to $19 today on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lawrence Kern, president and chief operating officer of the Westlake Village, Calif.-headquartered company, said in a conference call with analysts that third-quarter operating earnings per share will be better than the loss of 2 cents a share in the third quarter of last year, but below analysts' estimates.

Third-quarter earnings per share from ongoing operations should be better than the 2-cent loss Dole reported in the year-ago quarter, but below the 11 cents estimated by three analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.